A Calderbank offer that allows only four business days for acceptance in a complex commercial case with voluminous documentary evidence may be found to provide insufficient time for proper evaluation, contributing to a finding that rejection was not unreasonable. Offers that effectively require capitulation by offering only nuisance value relative to costs already incurred are less likely to support indemnity costs orders. The unreasonable rejection of a pre-trial Calderbank offer does not, without more, justify indemnity costs on appeal where no separate offer was made in respect of the appeal.
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